Richard Pennant, 1st Baron Penrhyn

A portrait of Richard Pennant by Henry Thomson

Richard Pennant, 1st Baron Penrhyn (1737 – 21 January 1808), was a Welsh politician and nobleman who served as an member of parliament in the British Parliament, representing Petersfield and Liverpool from 1761 to 1790. He was the owner of Penrhyn Castle, an estate on the outskirts on Bangor, North Wales. Pennant was also an absentee owner of six sugar plantations and slaves in Jamaica. In Parliament, Pennant opposed the British abolitionist movement. In Wales, Pennant was a major figure in the development of the Welsh slate industry. He received an Irish peerage from George III in 1783, and died in 1808, leaving his estates to George Hay Dawkins.